The fact that a pro-Khalistan protest outside the Indian High Commission in London 8 July passed off without incident and there are no reports of any trouble by Khalistani activists from Canada, the US or Australia on the same day, as had been feared, are only cold comfort to the Indian foreign service establishment. That such an orchestrated terrorist campaign could be planned simultaneously in four major countries shows there is something seriously wrong in the way India is conducting its diplomacy. On top of it, the comment by the Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar that India will not tolerate the country’s flag in the London embassy having been lowered by Khalistani activists reflects rather a streak of arrogance and lack of diplomatic finesse not expected from a career diplomat that he is. Repeatedly issuing demarches and summoning diplomats from the countries where Khalistani operatives have been threatening and attacking Indian diplomatic staff is certainly not the way to effectively deal with the snowballing crisis. It is no use blaming Pakistan for allegedly sponsoring the terrorist movement and promoting its supposed latest champion – Amritpal Singh trying to be a clone of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who caused incalculable harm during the movement’s earlier manifestation in the 1980s.
The current wave of protests by Khalistani activists is part of a series of demonstrations organised in several cities across the world, such as Melbourne, San Francisco and Toronto to protest against the killing of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia on 18 June. Nijjar was wanted in India on terrorism charges and his killing has caused outrage among his followers who accuse the Indian government of being involved in eliminating him.
There has been an outpouring of outrage on social media and in conversations. It seems to be India’s intelligence failure that an obscure, lone man Amritpal Singh suddenly shot into the limelight and kept foxing the police and other law enforcing agencies as he roamed free in India dodging arrest for months till he finally surrendered before the court. He is being described as “the man from nowhere,” unknown to Indians. He was a clean-shaven transporter from Dubai who suddenly emerged in India as a self-styled heir to the toxic legacy of actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu who had played a role during the farmers’ protest in Punjab-Haryana-Uttar Pradesh-Rajasthan against the Modi government’s three anti-farmer legislations. After he died in a car accident, Amritpal Singh donned the mantle of spearheading the Waris Panjab De movement of Deep Sidhu that clamoured for the rights of the people of Punjab. His transformation into a bearded pro-Bhindranwale activist even led many to suspect that he is the creation of Pakistan planted to launch terrorist attacks in India.
The most intriguing development in recent times is the re-emergence of the Khalistani movement even when it does not get traction from a majority of the people of Punjab. The country was taken by surprise when a Khalistani activist hoisted the outfit’s flag at the height of the farmers’ march towards the Red Fort in protest against the controversial farm laws. At that point the BJP-led Centre even sought to portray the agitation as a Khalistani-backed one.
It seems the government in its desperation and subsequent frustration over not being able to shove the laws down the throats of the farmers apparently at the behest of big corporate houses blackened the movement by bracketing it with Khalistani terrorists operating from outside, especially Canada where there is an influential Sikh diaspora.
Last month, Amritpal Singh invoked Bhindranwale’s rhetoric by saying Union Home Minister Amit Shah could meet the same fate as former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gunned down for launching Operation Blue Star to flush out Sikh terrorists, led by Bhindranwale, from the Golden Temple complex. Shah spoke against Khalistan.
Amritpal Singh’s father, Tarsem Singh, has complained the hunt for his son was a “conspiracy,” and that his son was working to fight drug addiction.
Whatever the truth, the fact remains that Khalistani activists are operating on foreign soil with the aim of carving out a separate state for the Sikhs. Their deep ties with their native land, Punjab, and moorings with Punjabi culture are strong enough. The government needs to handle the issue with far more care and isolate the subversive forces from the patriotic people of Punjab who form the bulwark for a strong and prosperous India. Bigotry and narrow religious ideology of the BJP are not the answer to the problems in Punjab and the divisive Khalistani movement.